We were called out with our fire company to a structure fire (I'm on the rescue squad). In the end 6 FD's and 3 squads were there.
About a 1/2 hour after I arrived to the scene (was on the road so I arrived in my personal vehicle and parked it in an adjacent driveway as I missed the rig), one of the firemen brought out this very lethargic cat that wasn't breathing well at all. Another fire fighter and I hooked it up to Oxygen with a Non-Rebreather Mask for close to 45 minutes. Another 1/2 hour later I was given permission to transport the cat to a vet of the fire fighter's who was helping me with the cat. During that 1/2 hour of time, we were able to get the cat some water, and she took it. She began to perk up as we were getting her ready to take her to the vet, we put her down and I began to pet her. She arched her back against my hand and raised her tail and even began to purr. By the time I got her to the vet, she was still very tired and in shock but she was more responsive and the vet injected her with fluids. She was one of the lucky ones, she only had singed hair on the outside (granted there could be more damage inside we don't see) and obvious smoke inhalation.
The owners of the house weren't home at the time of the fire and they had 3 dogs and 4 cats total. 2 of the dogs died and 2, possibly 3 cats passed too.
Just thought I'd share.
About a 1/2 hour after I arrived to the scene (was on the road so I arrived in my personal vehicle and parked it in an adjacent driveway as I missed the rig), one of the firemen brought out this very lethargic cat that wasn't breathing well at all. Another fire fighter and I hooked it up to Oxygen with a Non-Rebreather Mask for close to 45 minutes. Another 1/2 hour later I was given permission to transport the cat to a vet of the fire fighter's who was helping me with the cat. During that 1/2 hour of time, we were able to get the cat some water, and she took it. She began to perk up as we were getting her ready to take her to the vet, we put her down and I began to pet her. She arched her back against my hand and raised her tail and even began to purr. By the time I got her to the vet, she was still very tired and in shock but she was more responsive and the vet injected her with fluids. She was one of the lucky ones, she only had singed hair on the outside (granted there could be more damage inside we don't see) and obvious smoke inhalation.
The owners of the house weren't home at the time of the fire and they had 3 dogs and 4 cats total. 2 of the dogs died and 2, possibly 3 cats passed too.
Just thought I'd share.
